HARRISBURG — Frank T. Brogan was the first member of his family to go to college.

He didn't blow the opportunity.

Brogan moved from his native Ohio to Florida for his first elementary school teaching job in 1978. Over the next 35 years he rose through the ranks of Florida's educational and political landscapes to become the state's highest public school official, Gov. Jeb Bush's lieutenant governor and head of its university system.

Now, Brogan, 59, currently chancellor of the State University System of Florida, will bring that experience to Pennsylvania.

The board of governors of the Pennsylvania System of Higher Education voted 15-0 Wednesday morning to hire Brogan as chancellor. Brogan will oversee a $1.6 billion budget, more than 12,150 employees and nearly 115,000 students at 14 state-owned universities, including Kutztown and East Stroudsburg.

Brogan will be paid $327,500 annually, the highest salary in all of Pennsylvania state government. It's the same salary his predecessor, John C. Cavanaugh, who resigned in January, had earned since 2008.

"I am very honored to have been selected as chancellor of the Pennsylvania system," Brogan said. "Part of my job as chancellor here in Florida and in Pennsylvania is to be an ambassador of public education and to bring industry closer to higher education."

The board, which has three vacancies, held the vote at PASSHE's headquarters here. Only Chairman Guido M. Pichini was present; others cast ballots over speakerphone.

During the brief meeting, Pichini said the six-month search to find the system's fourth chancellor attracted interest from hundreds of potential candidates. Brogan's background, Pichini said, made him the clear favorite among the board's search committee and the entire board.

"We were looking for a strong administrator and a transformational leader who will collaborate with traditional and non-traditional stakeholders representing divergent views on what is best for our students and their families," Pichini said.

But the board's search was not without controversy. Since 1982, the board has had a policy of releasing finalists' names in chancellor searches. That changed this year, when the board in January voted unanimously to make the search process private.

Casting one of those votes was Ron Tomalis, Corbett's education secretary at the time, who went on to be one of the finalists for the chancellor's job. Revelations that he was a finalist caused the university faculty union and others to question whether Tomalis, who now works from home as Corbett's $139,931 higher education advisor, was using inside knowledge and political influence to get a leg up on the competition.

PASSHE spokesman Kenn Marshall said Wednesday the criticism was not fair. The confidentiality rule was appropriate and is the norm because other states, such as California, New York and North Carolina, have used the same secrecy to find the best job applicants.

In a media conference call in which he did not shy away from questions, Brogan said he appreciated how PASSHE ran its search. But he said he has been around politics long enough to know his name could have been leaked and if it was, he would not have withdrawn from consideration.

Brogan's five-year contract as Florida's chancellor ends next year. That is part of the reason, Brogan said, he was looking for a new job. After 35 years of working in education and state government, Brogan said, he was due to leave as part of an early retirement incentive with the Florida's public pension system.

When he saw the ad for PASSHE's opening, Brogan, said, he and his wife thought it would be a good career move for him and a good personal move for them and their 8-year-old son.

"This gave me the opportunity to remain a chancellor," Brogan said.

University of North Florida President John Delaney praised Brogan, who according to published reports is credited with ending years of acrimony between the Legislature and university system Board of Governors.

"Pennsylvania is getting a good person, a great chancellor and a remarkable leader," Delaney said in a statement. "He knows the realities of daily life on campus and can translate that knowledge into good public policy."

In moving north, Brogan will be taking a $29,500 pay cut to run a higher education system going in reverse.

Student enrollment in Florida's higher education system is 350,000 and growing along with the state's overall population. Student enrollment in the 14 PASSHE universities has dropped more than 4 percent since its high of 119,513 in fall 2010 as the state's overall population ages and families have fewer children.

Fewer homegrown students mean less undergraduate tuition — now at $6,428 per year — which means less revenue for the universities.

The universities also are dealing with a collective 19 percent cut in state funding since 2010-11, and have been under increasing scrutiny by Gov. Tom Corbett and the Legislature to keep tuition increases to a minimum.

That atmosphere does not scare him, Brogan said, citing a nearly 45 percent cut in funding to Florida universities. Neither does the possibility professors and universities presidents, who hold doctorate degrees, will not take him seriously because he holds only a master's degree.

Since childhood, Brogan said, he has had a deep respect for the legislative process. He said he respects those who hold doctorate degrees because he twice put his quest for a doctorate on hold.

"Mr. Brogan has experience in both academia and state government, qualifications that will benefit the state system," Hicks said. "Being chancellor is not unlike being the CEO of a hospital; it requires experience in the field to be an effective administrator."

Credentials: Florida public school teacher and administrator, 1978-1995; Florida Education Commissioner, 1995-1998; Florida lieutenant governor, 1998-2003; 2003-2009, president of Florida Atlantic University; chancellor of the State University System of Florida 2009-June.